Au Revoir Les Enfants [DVD] [1990] [Multilingual] [Region 1]

Louis Malle based this semi-autobiographical film on a painful childhood memory.
In occupied France, Jews had to hide to stay alive. But young Julien Quentin isn't aware of this, and when several new students arrive at his Catholic school, Julien knows only that he likes Jean Bonnet, one of the new boys. They two become fast friends; then, one day, Julien figures out the truth about Jean: he's Jewish, and in hiding from the Nazis. And in a moment of irrecoverable thoughtlessness, Julien makes a tragic mistake...

"...[AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS is] a work that has the kind of simplicity, ease and density of detail that only a film maker in total command of his craft can bring off, and then only rarely....So moving..."
New York Times

Included in the New York Times "10 BEST FILMS OF 1988"
New York Times

"...Very moving....The film is a testament to the power of the medium and to the art of the writer-director in dealing with an overwhelming personal experience..."Los Angeles Times

"[The film works] miracles with an unknown cast of young players in a fact-based World War II-era story..."
Sight and Sound

"A brilliant Louis Malle comeback from fairly late in the director's spotty but brilliant career..."USA Today

"[A] touching and sad story based on events from director Louis Malle's own childhood."
Widescreen Review